RCS Las Vegas: What to watch for
The 2015 Rivals Camp Series Presented by Under Armour kicks off with the Rivals
Quarterback Challenge on Saturday in the Los Angeles area and then goes to Las
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Vegas on Sunday for the first full camp on the schedule. The 2015 Rivals Camp Series will feature 10 camps, four Quarterback Challenges, two Speed & Skills Challenges and 12 combines spread out across the country as Rivals continues to evaluate at the best rising football talent in the nation. These events lead into the Rivals Five-Star Challenge, which will be held June 5-7 at M&T Bank Stadium in Baltimore for the elite of the elite.
Here is a look at five storylines heading into Sunday's Las Vegas camp.
Loaded wide receivers group
Chris Taylor-Yamanoha has received offers from three Pac-12
programs.
The main storyline in California's 2016 recruiting class is just how absolutely
loaded it is at wide receiver and that will carry over into the Las Vegas camp.
Start at the top with La Puente (Calif.) Bishop Amat's Tyler Vaughns,
who is pushing for five-star consideration and is currently the top-rated
receiver in California. Fresno (Calif.) Clovis West's Darian Owens is
also pushing for more respect and he's focused on dominating this weekend.
Three-star Chris Taylor-Yamanoha is also looking for a
breakout weekend and then Los Angeles Augustus Hawkins teammates Joseph Lewis (2017) and Jalen Hall (2018) could further emerge on the national scene.
Lewis was the best offensive performer at the B2G Elite 16 7-on-7 this past weekend and was virtually unstoppable in one-on-one situations. Hall is already 6-foot-4 and 183 pounds, an excellent route runner and he has great hands. The Hawkins duo could put on a show this weekend.
As far as non-California receivers, keep an eye on Chandler, Ariz., four-star
N'Keal Harry, who has already landed offers from Arizona,
DBs ready to go
The wide receiver group in Las Vegas should be spectacular. The defensive backs coming are phenomenal as well, which should set up perfectly for some very interesting one-on-one competition.
Four-star cornerback Byron Murphy, who has nearly 20 offers, along with the Pittsburg, Calif., duo of four-star safety Shurod Thompson and four-star cornerback Jordan Parker will be looking to lock up receivers on the outside.
Gardena (Calif.) Serra is always loaded at basically every position and two of its top defensive backs -- four-stars Brandon Burton and CJ Pollard -- are expected to be in Las Vegas.
Utah commit Micah Croom along with a host of young and hungry defensive backs from powerhouse Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco will be
working out. One of the top 2017 defensive backs in California -- Los Angeles Salesian's Deommodore Lenoir -- will also be there.
Two other 2017 prospects to watch will be Arizona State commit Alex Perry from Las Vegas Bishop Gorman and Denver (Colo.) Mullen cornerback
Christian Cumber, who already has offers from Colorado and Colorado State.
LBs could really impress
Darrian Franklin headlines an impressive group of
linebackers heading to Las Vegas.
Another position that could be tough to evaluate in a camp setting is linebacker, but this group is loaded and will have ample opportunities to prove themselves through drills and one-on-one sessions.
Four-stars Darrian Franklin from Downey, Calif., and Bryce Youngquist out of Rancho Cucamonga (Calif.) Los Osos lead the way. Both have had strong performances in 7-on-7 events already this off-season as both move really well and can cover a lot of ground. Another four-star to watch is Aberdeen, Wash., standout Joel Dublanko, one of the top three players in the Washington state rankings by Rivals.com.
There is also an interesting group of under-the-radar linebackers expected to attend, including Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne's Lawson Hall, who has only been offered by Colorado State so far but is receiving plenty of Pac-12 interest.
Palm Desert, Calif., three-star Tommy Jacobsson, three-star Blake Walls out of Gardena (Calif.) Serra and Antioch (Calif.) Antioch Senior's Kobie Beltram, who just landed an Oregon State offer, will be others to watch.
Young running backs to watch
Running backs can often be difficult to evaluate in camps, but this group will be closely watched because it's so absolutely loaded from top to bottom. Many of them are 2017 prospects, so getting a jumpstart is never a bad thing.
Antioch (Calif.) Antioch Senior 2017 standout Najee Harris, who already has offers from Alabama, Michigan, Ole Miss,
UCLA, USC and many others, will be one of many to watch. The 6-foot-2, 210-pound prospect has outstanding sophomore film and could be one of the top players in the state moving forward.
Another 2017 running back from California who has received rave reviews early in his career is Fontana Summit recruit Stephen Carr, who has been offered
by Washington and Colorado so far. Los Angeles Hawkins 2017 RB Greg Johnson is already close to 10 offers and could also play some defensive back if needed.
Four-star Melquise Stovall from Lancaster (Calif.) Paraclete
(Miami and Washington are frontrunners) and three-star Sean Riley out of Harbor City (Calif.) Narbonne (Utah offer) will be two of the 2016 running backs to watch.
Trench battles could be tough
One of the best aspects of the Rivals Camp Series is the linemen competition and the large amount of reps every prospect will get during the day. There should be some dandies in Las Vegas.
Four-star offensive tackle Nathan Smith, who has been battling a cold this week, leads the way and the Murrieta (Calif.) Mesa recruit has quickly become a national prospect this off-season. Auburn (Calif.) Placer's Jacob Capra, who has been loading up with Pac-12 offers, is toward the top of the list as well.
Other offensive linemen who could shine include three-stars Keenen King
Utah State), Sterling Strother (California and
Those players and others across the offensive line will be tested by a tough group of defensive linemen. A bunch of three-stars with the prospect of moving up will be competing, led by Phoenix (Ariz.) Brophy Prep DE Connor Murphy, who already has Arizona, Arizona State, Michigan,
Others to watch include Covington (Wash.) Tahoma three-star DE Amandre Williams (Washington offer), Tucson (Ariz.) Salpointe's Justin Holt (Arizona offer) and Fontana (Calif.) A.B. Miller's
(Colorado offer). A bunch of other defensive linemen including Jay Tufele,
Logan Gamble and Max Tupai are three that could impress.
